I have a history with depression and anxiety, I have been diagnosed with "Major Depressive Disorder" and Obsesive Compulsive Disorder. I know I have consistent depression that seems to teeder between severe and mild. I have been having problems with it again. I used to take Zoloft but wained off of it because I did not like the zombie effect it gave me. I am currently taking Gabapentin and Tramadol for chronic pain, and would like to know what depression/anxiety medications I could take that would not interfere with the pain meds.

Added 29 Oct 2013:

I am also seventeen, forgot to mention age. Obviously with some medications suggested already, it occured to me, may not be prescribed to people under eighteen.

Responses (10)

Gabapentin should be fine w Ultram, however, you have to be very careful with antidepressants, especialy SSRI types like Effexor, Zoloft and Prozac family meds due to the possibility of Seretonin Syndrome that can be deadly. Consult your physician about concerns and you may be prescribed a difrerent pain med ( Im not a fan of Tramadol duehaving a seizure at normal doses) or a new antidepressant. He/she may decide to leave you on your current if deemed safe to take.

Thanks. Yeah I had stopped taking zoloft last summer. I was taking 200 mg for anxiety (the o.c.d. mainly) and deppression. And though I was having the depression and anxiety problems again I hated the feeling that even if the house was burning down I'd be okay! lol. It was not a good feeling. But also with my connective tissue disorder, I have always had chronic pain but was holding off on the pain medication. But it was getting to be to much, so I started last month on the Gabapentin and Tramadol. They of course had asked if I was considering the anxiety and or depression bad enough to take something for it again, and I said no. Even though I had been, because I think they would have denied the medication for the pain if they knew. But lately I'm thinking I just need to tackle this mess again. And just find a group of meds that work for everything.

Hi, Ck! Shan's right ~ tramadol is iffy with any of the antidepressants because of the risk of serotonin syndrome with some and seizures with the others. Options might be a different pain-reliever or adding a mood stabilizer. Cymbalta is an antidepressant that's also prescribed for GAD and chronic pain.Best wishes, WCV

I'm in the same place as ck, I was on Citalopram, with Tramadol. Started having side eff. dizzy, lightheaded, a foggy feeling, trouble with my balance. My Dr. started to weaned me off of Citalopram on 10/24. Feeling some better. my foot dr. started me on Gabapentin on 10/15, but I was having thisside eff. before starting Gabapentin. Now I wonder if I will be able to get on another antidepressant for my depression & what? ck I was just gotta ask the same question when I find your. I hope you find what you need too.

I take effexor, amitriptyline and tramadol, and have never in the 10 yrs of all of them had a had a problem. Serotonin syndrome is warned with them, but its not near as prevalant as they'd have you believe. As long as you are familiar with the symptoms you'll be ok.

Kaismom is correct... its not common but is a possibity... kinda like my seizures. I was taking Effexor XR at the same time as well and didnt have an issue for 6 mo til I had the seizure. There are risks w any medication you take but the more informed you are the better off you will be, also, the more informed yoh are... the scarier the adverse reactions and side effects seem, too.

Also... symptoms of seretonin syndrome may be mild or have an extremely rapid onset... that is the issue... you never know if your case., if the very small chance arises, what it will be... I think I had read there has been only 2-3 cases recognized and documented of ultram related syndrome... thats not to say how many others have been misdiagnosed.

lol yes, it's a double edged sword with side-effects. I usually only read the severe side-effects because I feel like I'll get paranoid if I read them before I start taking the medications lol. I start to worry myself.

Dear Ck, Years ago, I had my first and last presription for Tramadol. I hada bad interaction with it and my celexa, which I take for depression. I can't really remember much more, but it scared me... dd..Good Luckfinding a depression med that works for you.

Thanks, yeah you never get completely off the hook with meds, solve one problem, acquire three more. It's a bummer, but it's just a matter of weighing pros and cons. With Tramadol I felt like I was walking on clouds the first week, not in a good way lol. It's not a fun feeling. But now, though it still makes me foggy that seems to be the only side effect. But, it seems to not work as well as it did a month ago and that concerns me. Are they going to up the gabapentin or play around with other meds? I'll have to see.

I take gabpinten and trasdone 100mg my husband said I was like a new person when I started taken trasdone the only thing I don't like is you built up a. Tolarance so after taken for about year and a half I had to go upon to hundred mg. Apptripline elvil I would not take because it makes you gain weight and you're mouth is dry as a bone in the morning best wishes to you sweetie

They will probably go up on the Gabapinten every time you go until your taken three 3times a day. I have been seeing soon terrible story's about Gabapinten and withdrawalI am going to ask for something else that dosent have so many problems if you take them and they decide to stop it because my friends doctor just stopped giveing it to her she had a night mare on her hands exsept it was really happening to her. Sound like night mare to me then I read some other posts about it so if Iyt was you sweetie I would think about changing. Trasodone works great for depression. I have tryed all the stuff from mental Health. Nothing works for my Nevers so I go to a general practision she gives me all my meds I take 5mg valum 3times a day works for me with the trasodone at night. Take care sweetie

Hi Ck,I just want to add my two cents here, if it's ok. Tramadol is very unique and acts as an SNRI in our systems, hence Shanman's concern about serotonin syndrome, but like he and kaismama said, it's quite rare indeed, you're probably not a candidate for it because of the dose of Tramadol you are taking. I'm hoping you find something quickly and no worries if your doc tells you to keep taking the Tram with an SSRI or an SNRI.Best wishes,Lara

Just as an aside, make sure that when you go to your Dr. that you have written out a list of medications you are currently on. Sometimes records can be incomplete for any number of reasons, so that is for your protection. Since many of the anti-depressants out there can cause drowsiness, even if you can use the two drugs together, consider starting the medications together on a weekend, so that if you are overly drowsy, you won't be spaced out at work. If you have a good friend or family member that can go with you to see your Dr. when he/she prescribes the medications for the first time, take them with you. This may seem paranoid, but from personal experience, having a friend with me that knew the meds I was on and how much saved me from being given a medication in the hospital that could have caused an anaphylactic reaction.

Hi, as some of the other members have discussed, i also used to take a combination of antidepressants, with Tramadol, and severe interaction warnings came up when i checked. However i also was fine. Being in your teens though, i would expect your doctor to be a little more cautious... It would make sense to change your pain medication, giving you a much broader list of medications that you can take to treat your depression & OCD.

wow. you state you're taking gabapentin for pain, well, I'M taking it for depression, anxiety and bipolar!! have you noticed it helping at all with your depression and anxiety, and has your pdoc said anything about it??

I'm also taken gabapentin for pain, for nerve damage in my foot I take 600mg 3X daily, it is helping with my nerve damage. Its not helping at all for my depression I'm on Fluoxtine 40mg & its not helping either, so I don't know what I'm going to do now.

I think Cymbalta is an excellent anti depressant with pain relieving affects, you may be able to go off the Tramadol after you're on Cymbalta for 6-8 weeks or at least lower the dose of Tramadol. Just be aware if you do take Cymbalta is is usually not easy to come off of and will give some nasty withdrawal symptoms so make sure if you need to come off it, your doctor titrated you down slowly. I wouldn't worry about the Serotonin Syndrome, you are not taking a high dose of the Tramadol. I've taken 100mg for years with various anti depressants and never had a problem.